Spain Charging Shakira With Tax Evasion

Albert Gea/Reuters

Spanish prosecutors have charged pop star Shakira with tax evasion, alleging she failed to pay more than $16.3 million between 2012 and 2014, according to the charges filed Friday. Prosecutors allege Shakira listed the Bahamas as her official residence to benefit from the significantly lower tax rate there, while she was in fact living in Spain. Shakira has denied the charges. Shakira said in a statement Friday through her representatives that Spanish tax authorities are using her “as a scapegoat” to frighten other taxpayers into coming clean. If the singer does not pay the alleged back taxes, prosecutors recommended a court freeze of her assets. Shakira was named in the “Panama Papers” leaks that detailed the offshore tax arrangements of numerous high-profile individuals.